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Primal Nutrition: Paleolithic and Ancestral Diets for Optimal Health
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Primal Nutrition: Paleolithic and Ancestral Diets for Optimal Health
384Paperback(3rd Edition, New Edition of Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine)
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Overview
• Examines the protective nutrients inherent in primal foods, such as wild seafood, grass-fed meat, and raw dairy, explaining how they differ from Western refined foods
• Explains how to create your own commonsense primal diet, tailored to your specific needs and conditions, such as allergies, eczema, arthritis, and even cancer
• Builds upon the work of Dr. Weston A. Price, Dr. Francis Pottenger, and other nutritional health pioneers
The human body’s innate mechanisms for healing and immunity extend beyond the mending of cuts and broken bones or recovery from colds and flu. Given the foods we evolved to thrive on, foods our ancestors knew well, the body can naturally prevent and overcome a host of degenerative conditions and chronic illnesses, from allergies, eczema, and arthritis to dental caries, heart attack, and even cancer.
Drawing on the work of Dr. Weston A. Price, Dr. Francis Pottenger, and other nutritional health pioneers, Dr. Ron Schmid demonstrates that the strongest and most disease-resistant indigenous cultures around the world lived on whole, natural foodsseafood, wild game, healthy grass-fed domestic animals, and, in some cases, whole grains and raw dairy. He explores how modern refined diets differ from ancestral ones, the dramatic declines in health seen in indigenous cultures that adopt modern diets, and the steps you can take to build health with traditional foods. He observes that the foods considered essential and “sacred” in native culturesthe foods around which rituals and ceremonies evolved and that were emphasized prior to and during pregnancywere invariably animal-source foods such as seafood, liver, and raw milk products, thus underscoring the importance of these foods to overall health and immunity, a fact that modern nutritional science has overwhelmingly proved true.
Blending the wisdom of traditional eating patterns with modern scientific knowledge, Dr. Schmid explains how to apply these principles to create your own commonsense primal diet, tailored to your specific needs, to rebuild health and improve longevity.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781620555194 |
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Publisher: | Inner Traditions/Bear & Company |
Publication date: | 10/05/2015 |
Edition description: | 3rd Edition, New Edition of Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicine |
Pages: | 384 |
Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d) |
About the Author
Sally Fallon Morell is the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Nora T. Gedgaudas, CNS, CNT, is board-certified in Holistic Nutrition through the National Association of Nutritional Professionals (NANP) and is recognized by the Nutritional Therapy Association as a certified nutritional therapist (CNT). Also a board-certified clinical neurofeedback specialist (CNT) and a member of the Nutrition and Metabolism Society and the Weston A. Price Foundation, she maintains a private practice and lives in Grangeville, Idaho.
Read an Excerpt
Chapter 8
CREATING A PRIMAL DIET FOR HEALTH AND LONGEVITY
The body’s needs constantly change, and an optimal diet is dynamic. To maintain balance, a sense of which foods are most needed now is required. Foods eaten at the last meal, and in the last day or two, strongly affect this sense. But there are longer cycles during which a need to emphasize certain foods may be felt. Some cycles relate to seasonal availability of foods; others are internal and may last for a few days, months, or even years.
Several signals may be monitored as a guide in food selections. Difficult bowel movements with hard stools and straining may signal a need for more fats, raw vegetable salads, fermented vegetables, or cooked vegetables.
Appearance of excessive mucus in the respiratory systemsinus or nasal congestion, postnasal drip, or early symptoms of a coldis often a sign the body is reacting poorly to dairy products. Raw milk products too may cause these symptoms when they are from grain-fed animals.
Abnormal redness on the skinpimples, rashes, small blemishesmay be a sign of eating sugar and sweets. Honey and other sweeteners, fruit juices, dried fruits, and excessive amounts of fresh fruit may cause this sign. The skin is an organ of elimination and often is the first part of the body to reveal an imbalance. The person eating no concentrated sweets for a time may have the quickest reaction when sweets are eatenthe body is well balanced and immediately eliminates excesses.
PROPORTIONS AND BALANCE
I divide all foods into the following six groups that lead us to what I call the Primal Principle.
1. Grassfed Animal Foods and Fats. Wild fish, shellfish, and fish eggs; grassfed meat, organs, bones, fat, and broth; pastured fowl and eggs; raw milk, yogurt, kefir, cheese, butter, lard, and ghee.
2. Salad Greens, Raw and Cooked Green and Other Vegetables, Fermented Vegetables, Sprouts, Fruits, and Sea Vegetables. These include lettuces and other leafy greens palatable raw in salads, parsley, celery, and sprouts. Cooked green vegetables include kale, broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, and others. A wide variety of fruits eaten in moderation are both tasty and healthful. Sea vegetables include dulse, kelp, nori, and others. Fermented vegetables are wonderful traditional foods.
3. Foods Made from Whole Grains, Nuts, Seeds, and Beans. The key to healthy use of these foods is proper preparation (typically involving soaking) and moderation. These foods may be part of a healthy diet, but they are not for all people at all times.
4. Healthy Oils and Vinegars, Spices and Seasonings, and Alcoholic and Other Fermented Beverages. One hundred percent extra virgin olive oil and cold-pressed coconut oil are essential in daily food preparation. Other healthy and beneficial oils to use in moderation include macadamia nut, avocado, sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin oils. Raw apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar are used in salad dressings. Sea salt may be used to taste. Freshly ground black pepper and other spices enhance the taste of many foods. Wine is a traditional drink that enhances appetite and the flavors of foods and is enjoyed the world over in its own right. Beer too may be enjoyable and generally presents no problems, though beer is grain based and those avoiding grains may wish to avoid beer. Indeed, handcrafted unpasteurized microbrew beers are a healthful addition to kombucha and other fermented beverages when used in moderation.
5. Special Foods, Vitamins, Minerals, and Food Supplements. When carefully selected for individual needs, these items may complement even the best primal diets to aid recovery from health problems, build optimal health, and enhance longevity. Examples relevant for most people include carefully crafted cod liver oil, krill oil, organ and gland supplements, iodine supplements, and nutrient formulas that help protect vision and memory as we inevitably age. Others benefit from supplements that help in correcting dietary deficiencies or deal with environmental stresses.
6. Everything Else (refined and manufactured foods, particularly sugar and white flour). Foods not included in the above five groups are not natural foods and are for the most part best avoided. The degree to which one can tolerate their occasional use depends on the state of health of the individual. Recovery from most medical problems is greatly enhanced when “Everything Else” is studiously avoided. Sugar in particular is highly addictive and indeed poison for many people if even the smallest amounts lead to overconsumption, a common occurrence.
THE PRIMAL PRINCIPLES
1. Foods in groups 1 and 2 are the most primal, fundamental, basic foods, essential for prevention, healing, and recovery from disease. Most of your diet should consist of foods in groups 1 and 2.
2. Use the foods in groups 3 and 4 in moderation.
3. Take advantage of modern wisdom about primal diet and health to help correct medical problems and achieve optimal health by utilizing the items in group 5.
4. Avoid the foods in group 6 like the plague.
The proportions of different foods most appropriate for each person vary from individual to individual, depending on one’s genes, state of health, stage of life, tastes and inclinations, and health goals. Those ideal proportions will change as you go through life. I believe that by following the framework outlined in this chapter, you will find your way to the best proportions. It helps to have an experienced guide, a mentor if you will. He or she might even be a physician. Doctor is, after all, the Latin word for “teacher.”
Table of Contents
AcknowledgmentsForeword
by Sally Fallon Morell
Foreword
by Nora Gedgaudas, C.N.S., C.N.T.
Preface
Healing, Health, and Wholeness
Introduction
Primal Diets, Weston Price, and Healing
Part 1
AN ANCESTRY OF PRIMAL NUTRITION
Diets of Traditional Societies and a Legacy of Health
1 Sacred Practices of Ancient Ancestors and Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers
2 Dr. Weston Price and His Studies of Traditional Societies
3 Protective Characteristics of Primal Nutrition
4 The Long-Lived People of Vilcabamba, Hunza, and Georgian Russia
5 The Benefits of Raw Food as Determined by Dr. Francis M. Pottenger, Jr.
6 The Unique Nutrients of Seafood
Part 2
DIET AND DISEASE
Planning for Health and Recovery
7 Guidance on the Path to Good Health
8 Creating a Primal Diet for Health and Longevity
9 Dietary Considerations for Specific Conditions
Part 3
PRIMAL VERSUS MODERN FOODS
A Deeper Understanding of Primal Food Groups
10 Meat, Fowl, and Eggs
11 Fresh and Saltwater Seafood and the Environment
12 Milk and Milk Products
13 Vegetables, Whole-Grain Foods, Fruits, Nuts, and Seeds
14 Extras: Oils, Condiments, Seasonings, Beverages, and Refined Products
15 Special Foods and Food Supplements
Epilogue
Toward a Philosophy of Natural Living
Appendix 1
The All-Meat Diet of Arctic Adventurer
Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Appendix 2
An In-Depth Look at Seafood Selection
Appendix 3
Understanding Laboratory Tests
Appendix 4
Movement, Games, and Sports
Bibliography
Index